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Ingredients
Serves: 12

225g (8oz) butter, softened

200g (7oz) caster sugar

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

250g (9oz) plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 drops red food colouring

300g (11oz) apricot jam or preserves

Marzipan

350g (12oz) ground almonds

350g (12oz) icing sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

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MethodPrep:30min › Cook:30min › Ready in:1hr

Cream butter and 200g sugar together. Beat in 3 eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt gently. Add milk if needed.

Divide batter into 2 equal parts. Add food colouring to 1 part to make a deep pink color. Grease two 18cm square cake tins. Spread one coloured batter evenly into each tin.

Bake at 180 degrees C (gas mark 4) until an inserted skewer comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before turning out onto racks to cool.

Trim the edges from both cakes. Cut each cake lengthwise into 4 strips as wide as the cake is thick. Trim to make strips match. Heat jam slightly. Spread on sides to glue 2 pink and 2 white strips together in checkerboard fashion. Spread all 4 sides of completed cake with jam. Repeat with remaining pink and white stripes.

To make the marzipan: Mix almonds, icing sugar, egg, lemon juice and almond extract together. Knead until smooth, adding a bit of lemon juice or water if too dry to roll. Add only 1/2 teaspoon at a time. It will be stiff. Divide into 2 equal parts.

Roll 1/2 of paste 3mm or so thick on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Cut to fit length of cake, and long enough to cover 4 sides leaving ends uncovered. Lay cake on one end of marzipan. Wrap to completely enclose all 4 sides of cake pinching marzipan to seal. Roll in icing sugar. Place with seal underneath on serving plate or store in plastic bag. Repeat for second cake. Chill and slice thinly to serve.

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Reviews (10)

A

by AILSA ROSE

10

I am only 14 but my Mum was a successful cook and I have entered many shows and cook at least 3 new things a week, cooking is definitely my passion and takes a lot of my time. This cake was luscious to eat and positively made my mouth water at the first bite. It was extremely light and fluffy, it is probably the nicest Battanburg I have ever made. The downside is I would recommend it only to fairly experienced as it is quite difficult to make nicely. Although it is fairly easy to make it taste nice the presentation is quite hard to get to look good. It is quite fiddley to make the different colours nice and even. If you've never made a Battenburg before don't be crestfallen if your first try looks a flop (mine was), it comes with practise. - 18 Jul 2008

L

by LCLARKE

9

GREAT recipe - easy to make. very authentic - however, you must spread the apricot jam on the marzipan with a pastry brush before you wrap the cake in it - this helps it to stick to the cake and it also tastes delicious! Try it with raspberry jam too for an alternative. Also, the cake mix looks too stiff even with a little milk - but you need the cake to be firm and hold it's shape - so don't be fooled!!! The recipe is spot on. Excellent ****** - 18 Jul 2008

T

by TRIS ASIMOV

7

Used different ingredients.
Have made this cake three times now, each time it was a great success. I found it easier to roll the marzipan out between two sheets of cling film, which also helped when covering the sponge. I also added almond essence instead of vanilla. Will definitely make again. - 18 Jul 2008